1
as in played
to engage in activity for amusement
he spent his college years dallying, seemingly determined to acquire as little knowledge as possible
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lingered
to move or act slowly
don't dally on the way to the interview
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flirted
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
she spent the summer dallying with a guy renting the neighboring beach house
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in dawdled
to spend time doing nothing
I kept dallying at my desk until I couldn't put off doing my work any longer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dallied
The full-backs, meanwhile, took their time from throw-ins, ensuring team-mates behind the ball were secure and Emiliano Martinez, who produced a second spellbinding save in as many visits to Nottingham, dallied from goal kicks.
—
Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dallied
Verb
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Curry played in five games after surgery to repair a broken second metacarpal.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
10 May 2026
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Nobody had seen a second round playoff game played in Minnesota in more than a decade.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Over a lifetime, filmmaker Lynne Sachs has collected business cards—mementos of brief exchanges with strangers—and selects seven to uncover why these moments have lingered so vividly in her memory.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
6 May 2026
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The girls, buzzed on miniature cans of soda, lingered in the liminal space between rolling credits and parental pickup.—
Anna Wiener,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
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The 30-year Treasury bond also flirted with a 5% yield in late March, when stocks were hitting their lows from the war in the Middle East and yields were hitting their highs amid inflation concerns driven by higher oil prices.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
1 May 2026
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Rudy Gobert flirted with a triple-double, tallying 10 points, 13 rebounds and a stunning eight assists.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off.—
Thomas Black,
Twin Cities,
21 Dec. 2025
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Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk.—
Dan Kois,
New Yorker,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Four years later — after the Broncos had toyed unsuccessfully with finding his replacement — Morton teamed with a new coach, his former Cowboys teammate Dan Reeves.—
Pat Graham,
Chicago Tribune,
12 May 2026
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Four years later — and after the Broncos had toyed unsuccessfully with finding his replacement — Morton teamed with a new coach, his former Cowboys teammate Dan Reeves.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts only a 35% chance for good conditions at the launch site Tuesday, which increases to 65% on Wednesday and 85% if delayed to Thursday.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 May 2026
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The singer’s lawyers had initially pushed for an immediate preliminary hearing — in which a judge determines if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring a case to trial — but have since backed off and delayed the process.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Verb
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But most of the action was in the foot-deep children’s pool, where Petra joined babies and kids riding mini slides into the warm water, as parents lounged unselfconsciously.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
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As Polis prepared to sign the bill, five black-and-white, 13-week-old puppies — Benedict, Daphne, Violet, Eloise and Hyacinth — lounged, climbed over one another, leaned into a reporter’s mic and cuddled in a pair of pens on the Capitol foyer’s floor.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On March 14, visiting SDFC led FC Dallas 3-1 before Petar Musa dragged the home side back.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
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The Carboniferous period dragged on for sixty million.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dallied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dallied. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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